The Man Before the Mask
by Crimson-Beyond
Summary: Before he was the world's greatest feared and loved villian, and before he was the Master of Magnetism, he was a spirited young man with dreams. This is a story of how he became what he is today. WIP. Chapter two is now up. Please R and R.
1. The Closest Thing to Hell on Earth

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Erik Lehnsherr or any other Marvel Character.

**Author's Note:** This is a work in progress. Please Read and Review. The more reviews I get, the more I can get done and faster.

**Chapter 1: The Closest Thing to Hell on Earth**

1944- Auschiwtz

In its three years of use as a death camp, Auschwitz would claim over one million lives. Everywhere you looked, death and suffering greeted you. This was most definitely the closest thing to Hell on Earth. It was here that many learned that death was not the worst thing that could happen to you. Sometimes living could be worse. In death, the suffering was finally over. Death was a kindness that many prayed for and longed for in this place.

Then there were those that refused to give in to the longing for death. They were those that were determined to survive and overcome all the odds. To die would be to give the Nazi's another victory. Some would rather continue this great suffering and live rather than die and let their tormentors have another victory. Erik Lehnsherr was one of those people. He was a survivor and a fighter.

He would not be overcome by all the evil and hatred that was around him. His resolve was only strengthened each and every time he seen another prison treated cruelly. It was strengthened every time he watched families being separated. When the strong and young were sent to work, while the older and sickly were sent to the gas chambers. His resolve grew each time he removed and checked the bodies in the crematoria. He would survive this Hell on earth, and he would have his revenge on these monsters.

These thoughts ran through his sharp mind on this starless night. The stars were hidden by the clouds on this night, just like everything else that was bright and brought hope was hidden in this place. The young man stood next to one of the many barb wired fences in this place, thinking. His tattered striped prison clothing hung loosely from extremely thin limbs. Every prisoner in this place was malnourished, underfed and sickly looking. There was barely anything but skin and bones left of them. Men that had come here young and strong now looked old and frail. That's what happened in places like this. Auschwitz sucked away all that was strong and in exchange left old and broken things. It demolished everything that was associated with prosperous times. It was a place where things were broken. That was the purpose of this place, and it served its purpose very well.

This young man refused to be broken by this place though. Each and every day he told himself that he would not fall to evil of this hell. He would rise above it and survive it. He was drawn from such spirited thoughts by the sound of muffled weeping. That was not a very uncommon sound in this place. It was one that he had grown used to. Grown used to, but not accepted. Every time another wail reached his ears, he cringed inwardly and then quickly stored away the rage that rose up in him. What right did these men have to torture and murder their fellow human beings? Of course, these monsters did not think of their prisoners as human beings. Erik knew that they prisoners were more human than the monsters that brought about such hell would ever be.

Silently he looked around for the source of the crying. It was late and most people were already sleeping. He himself was up only because this was a good time to think. The noises were very few at this point in the day and he was less likely to be disturbed. It was dangerous to do too much thinking while he was working. If he were caught drifting off into his own thoughts instead of solely focused on his work, he would probably become one of the bodies headed for the crematoria, rather than the man that moved the bodies there. That was his job in this place. He moved the mangled and tortured bodies to the crematoria. It was a horrid job that he would not wish on anyone, but it kept him alive. He stayed out of the way from such men as Nosferatu that way.

He feared the albino man they called Nosferatu. Some thought of him as their own Oscar Schindler, saving those that he took away for a time to take blood from and then giving them candy. Many of the children went to him and gave blood, only thinking of the candy that was promised. None of those children were ever seen again. Many thought that he had helped them to escape, but Erik did not think so. He had no evidence of this man's evil, at least not at first, but his instincts told him to avoid this man. So he had become a Sonderkommando, a man that brought the bodies to the crematoria and then cleaned it out. It had been there that he had found the mutilated bodies of his friends. Those poor children that had gone to Nosferatu. He had made them monsters, and then murdered them.

He shook his shaved head slightly, drawing himself forth from such thoughts. Now was not the time to think on such things, he told himself as his eyes finally landed on the source of the muffled weeping sound. Curled up on the ground was a young woman, muffling her tears by bending her head down into her chest. Like all the other prisoners at this hell on earth, her head was shaved bald. She was unnaturally thin and he could have counted every bone on her body. She was a rather pitiful sight, and his heart was moved with compassion for her.

Silently he walked over towards the young woman, crouching down next to her and laying a dirty hand on her shoulder. With a jolt she uncurled and looked at him, large brown eyes staring at him in a frightened matter for a moment. Large brown eyes, just like his sister's…. She tried to hold back her sobs, though the tears still ran freely down her dirty cheeks.

"Shhh. Don't cry. Everything's going to be alright," he said in a gentle and hushed voice. As she continued to stare at him, he offered a small smile.

A small and shaky smile appeared on her face, though tears continued to run down her cheeks.

"There now. Why are you crying?" he asked, his voice still soft and gentle. The poor girl was obviously frightened and scared. He felt the urge to comfort and look after her, just like he had tried to do with his sister. After a few more choked subs, she managed to speak up.

"My…my brother…my brother was taken to the…to the…the gas chambers," and here a few more sobs were bit back. "He'd fallen sick…so they took him…there. He…he promised to look after me. But now he's gone…" The girl's voice trailed off into sobs once again and she buried her face between filthy and slender palms.

A great wave of compassion washed over Erik. Like many others here - like himself - she had lost family. He could understand that pain. So many of them here could understand that pain. And now she had lost the one person that had promised to protect her. He had once promised his sister that he would protect her. He'd tried so hard to do just that, but he had only been a boy at the time. She'd just gotten so sick, from the lack of food and horrid conditions they lived in, that she'd simply faded away. A small tear came to his own eye at the remembrance of such times.

"I'll look after you now. I'll make sure that you're kept safe. I'll protect you now," he whispered to her, gently moving her so that she was cradled in his arms.

She turned her head towards his chest and continued to cry, nodding her head at his words. There was so little hope now that even when small amounts of it were offered, like this small bit had been offered by this stranger, you had to accept it and hold on for dear life. It was all they had left now. It was all she had left now.

Erik continued to hold her, comforting her as best as he could. He wasn't sure why he had felt so moved to protect her, but he had. Maybe it was the fact that he had not been able to protect his sister before this, and so now that he had stumbled upon this weeping young woman, he was going to try again. He was going to make up for his failure to protect his sister. Maybe it was the fact that she looked so lonely and weak, sitting there weeping to herself. He couldn't quite be sure, but whatever the case was, he had vowed to protect her and take care of her, and that was what he was going to do.

After a few more minutes of her crying, she leaned back slightly and looked up at him. Her tears still fell down her cheeks, but not so strongly as before.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning her weary head against his shoulder. For some reason she trusted this man. She believed him when he said that he was going to protect her and look after her.

A small smile came across his lips when she whispered her thanks.

"Your welcome. I'm Erik," he said, realizing they did not yet know each others names.

"I'm Magda," she said, her own voice no more than a tired whisper. Before anything else could be said, the young woman had fallen asleep, exhausted from her tears and no doubt the long days trying work.

_Don't worry little Magda. I'll look after you. I'll protect you. I promise_.

**Note:** As always, any reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. Escape

**Author's Note:** I don't own any Marvel characters. Also, thanks to all of you that reviewed. Just keep them coming.

Auschwitz – Early 1945

Silently light blue eyes observed the destructive seen before him. He had killed. He had shed the blood of another man. No, he silently corrected himself, not another man, a monster. He had killed this monster to keep Magda safe. He had promised to keep her safe, and that is what he had done. Still, it was rather a shock to see the blood on his hands, and to know it was there because he had just killed someone. Erik was not a cold blood killer like the monsters that ran this death camp.

The S.S. soldier had been about to kill Magda, for no other reason except for the fact that she was a prisoner and he could get away with it. The prisoners had no worth to the Nazi dogs, and another one dead would not matter to them. The man had had the gun poised, ready to fire at his poor little Magda. A rage and fear that he had never known before had rose up in him, and without giving it any thought, he'd called out to the man to stop. The soldier had turned to look at him, and then laugh. What a novel concept that this young man thought that he could stop a soldier from killing whomever he wanted to. The laughter was cut short though when was practically upon him.

The two had ended up grappling against each other, each trying to gain possession of the gun and have the upper hand. The soldier was surprised at the strength this young man possessed. Maybe it was thanks to the surprise of the attack, as well as the surprising amount of strength that the young prisoner had, but whatever the case, Erik managed to gain control of the gun. Without even thinking about it, he fired the gun off at the soldier, the bullet burrowing its way into the man's head and instantly killing him. The blood splattered unto Erik and the ground surrounding them, and the dead man's body fell to the ground.

The gun instantly slipped from his hands as he stared in shock at what he had just done. May God forgive him for such a crime. He had just killed. It was a crime that happened around him everyday, and yet, he was surprised that he had just done so. He had killed another man, for reasons much better than the Nazis killed them, and yet, he was appalled.

His mind was drawn from such thoughts by the sobs of Magda. His eyes moved from the horrid sight of the S.S. man and to Magda, who lay curled up in the snow. Quickly he made his way over to her, kneeling next to her and then gently scooping her up into his arms. Such a familiar gesture this had become now. A few months before he had promised that he would protect her, and he had done just that for the last few months. He had watched over her and kept her safe. He had given her some of his own rations and even stolen food for himself and her when he could. He had comforted her and held her like this when she was frightened and scared.

"Shh, my little Magda. Everything is going to be alright," he said, gently holding her against him and deliberately shielding her from the bloody sight that was behind him. Hopefully she would not notice the blood that was splattered on him now.

Tears continued to wrack her little body as she clung to him. She started to shake her head and murmur something through her tears. Silently he continued to hold her and waited until her tears subsided somewhat so that he could understand what she was saying.

"No…everything won't be alright, Erik."

"Yes, it will. I promise."

"You killed a guard. And they'll kill you for it," she managed to say before bursting into tears again.

Silence fell between them, only broken by Magda's sobs. She was right, he had killed and they most certainly would kill him for this. And if they killed him, no one would be left to protect Magda. In fact, they would most likely kill her as well. He could not allow that to happen. He would not allow that to happen. They had to escape. They had to get out of this hell on earth.

Slowly he stood up, still cradling her in his arms. He'd get them out of here. He'd keep them both safe, just like he had promised he would.

He had to hurry. Other soldiers would make there way over here soon, and then they would find the body of the S.S. man. They were lucky no one had stumbled upon them yet. The only reason that luck was holding for them as probably because the sounds of death and the tools in which it was carried out were so common in this place. The guards probably thought it was just another prisoner that had been killed. No need to investigate that right away. There was no need to push their luck though. Erik knew that.

"Magda, we have to get out of here. We're going to escape," he said, whispering it so that his voice would not carry and it would only be her that heard his words. No need to draw attention here by their voices carrying.

The only response he received was a small nod of the girl's head against his chest.

"Stay here just for a moment. I'll be back soon," he promised. Gently he sat her down and then made his way back over to the body of the S.S. man. The gun, they would need that. Just in case they ran in to more trouble. Hopefully they wouldn't though. Carefully he picked up the weapon and slid it into the pocket of his tattered pants. Then he made his way back over to Magda.

"Alright, follow me Magda," he said, trying to keep his voice gentle so that she would not panic. Silently he offered his hand to her. Gratefully she accepted it, an ever so small smile crossing her pale lips.

The pair quickly made their way towards the outer fence, moving as quietly and quickly as they could. When they reached the fence, Erik reached out towards it, trying to figure out a way to get past it. As he reached towards the fence, a hole began to appear, due to the fact that some of the metal links were being pushed back and scrunching against other metal links. For a moment the man simply stood and stared, not quite sure what to make of such an event. However, he soon realized it was not wise to simply stand around and ponder things. They did not have time to waste in doing such trivial things.

When the hole was at least a good foot wide, it stopped its growth. Slowly Erik reached out once against towards the hole, though this time nothing occurred. Glancing back at Magda, who watched him with wide eyes, he began to pull at the edges of the hole in the fence, slowly widening. It just had to be big enough for them to squeeze through it. It was not easy work to get it to that size, but it was work that he was capable of doing. After several minutes of strenuous pulling and stretching, he had widened the hole just enough so that they would be able to get through it.

"You first," he said, turning to Magda, a serious expression his face.

A small amount of sweat was beginning to trickle down his forehead and his hands were red from the work he had just done. The metal had not been all that soft and easy to work with, but it had been movable and the task was now done. That was what mattered.

Silently Magda climbed through the hole that her protector and friend had made. Her tattered clothing caught slightly on one of the links and a small piece tore off, but she ignored this. Once she was through, Erik quickly went through the hole. Well as quickly as someone of his size could anyways. He was a rather tall young man after all, considerably taller than Magda to be sure. It took a little more effort than it had her, but after a few scrapes, he found himself on the other side of the fence and free. For a moment the pair stood there, looking back at the death camp that they had just made it out of. They were free.

After a few moments of just staring in astonishment, Erik shook his head. They couldn't just stand here and stare. They weren't out of trouble just yet. They had to get far away from this hell on earth. And they had to survive the harsh winter and whatever else awaited them out there.

"We can't waste time Magda. Come on," he said as gently as he could, gently taking her elbow and guiding her away from the fence and towards the woods that stood nearby. Without saying another word, the two took off at a jog, Erik slowing his stride a little so that Magda could keep up.

They were going to make it.

**Author's Note:** Next part, Into the Woods. I'll be at camp most of next week, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to post that.


End file.
